Adobe Flash Player End-of-life 31 December 2020

Adobe will stop the distribution and updates of Flash player, disabling Flash functionality as from 31 December 2020. 

Adobe took that decision in 2017 as major browser vendors are integrating open standards in their browsers hence disallowing plug-ins including Adobe Flash Player. This will impact all applications using Flash for animations of images and videos as well as various technologies and search engines. 

Adobe will continue regular issuances of Flash Player security patches until end of 2020. 

Subsequently, Adobe Flash Player shall not be available for download and customers should not use unauthorised versions which are common source of malware and viruses.

Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla have issued complementary announcements with more technical details regarding Flash Player End-of-Life (EOL) for developers, enterprises, and users using specific operating systems or browsers. These announcements are summarised below:

• Web developers are encouraged to migrate any existing Flash content to open standards.
• Google will remove Flash completely from Chrome by the end of 2020.
• Microsoft will phase out Flash from Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer, culminating to the removal of Flash from Windows entirely by the end of 2020.

NCR is also creating awareness on the EOL impacts on ATM software applications that use Flash media for animations and images within ATM or marketing screens. Banks may be running the ATM Application - NCR Advance NDC - which if used in conjunction with Adobe Flash files will be impacted. Banks need to understand the actions to be taken to address this situation and avoid impact to ATMs and customer experiences. 

Banks currently using Flash for animations on their ATMs are recommended to take the following measures to mitigate the event:

• Updating their software to use newer, more stable and secure technologies for animations and video
• Deploying patches and updates to remove the need for Adobe Flash
• Converting video and animations from Flash media formats 

For more information on the topic and our Technology Solutions & Services, please contact us by mail technology@birger.technology.

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